Louis Dantin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Eugène Seers (1865-11-28)November 28, 1865 |
| Died | January 17, 1945(1945-01-17) (aged 79) |
| Occupation | writer, editor |
| Language | French |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Education | Collège de Montréal |
| Period | 1920s-1940s |
| Genre | poetry, novels, essays |
| Notable works | Poètes de l'Amérique française |
| Spouse | Clotilde Lacroix |
Louis Dantin was the pen name ofEugène Seers (November 28, 1865 – January 17, 1945), aCanadian writer and editor fromQuebec.[1] He is historically most noted as the original editor and publisher of the poetry ofÉmile Nelligan, although he also published numerous works as a poet, novelist and essayist in his own right.[1]
Originally fromBeauharnois,Quebec, he studied at theCollège de Montréal and later attended seminary to become aRoman Catholic priest. Associated with theCongregation of the Blessed Sacrament, he wrote religious poetry and short stories during that era.[1] He was later associated with theÉcole littéraire de Montréal, becoming acquainted there with writers such asÉmile Nelligan andArthur de Bussières.[1] He subsequently left the priesthood in 1903, marrying Clotilde Lacroix and moving toBoston,Massachusetts, where he worked as a printer forHarvard University Press.[1] He resided in Boston for the remainder of his life,[1] although he continued to publish French language literary work in Quebec.[1] Most of his published work was as an essayist and critic, including volumes such asPoètes de l'Amérique française (1928) andGloses critiques (1931), although he also published a volume of poetry (Le Coffret de Crusoé, 1932) and a posthumous novel (Les Enfances de Fanny, 1951).[1] Several volumes of his correspondence with other Quebec writers were also published, as well as several posthumous volumes of poetry from his archives.[1]
Two writers,Claude-Henri Grignon in his 1936Les Pamphlets de Valdombre andYvette Francoli in her 2013Le Naufragé du Vaisseau d'or, have alleged that Dantin was the actual author of most of the poetry that is credited to Nelligan.[2] Dantin denied Grignon's claims in several of his letters to other writers.[3] In 2016, theUniversity of Ottawa's literary journal,@nalyses, published an article by Annette Hayward and Christian Vandendorpe that rejected the claim based on textual comparisons of the poetry that is credited to Nelligan with Dantin's writings.[4] In 2021, Pierre Hébert arrived at the same conclusion in hisUne biochronique on Dantin.[5]
